A cross-cultural group of 20 prominent world figures has called for urgent efforts to heal the growing divide between Muslim and Western societies.
A report by the Alliance of Civilisations said the chief causes of the rift were not religion or history, but recent political developments, notably the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The multinational group of scholars, politicians and religious leaders said a climate of mutual fear and stereotypes was worsening the problem.
The group called for a meeting 'as soon as possible' to reinvigorate the Middle East peace process and urged the drafting of a White Paper analysing the Israeli-Palestinian landscape 'dispassionately and objectively'.
The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the report and underlined the global ramifications of the Middle East conflict.
The report also criticised Western military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for contributing to a 'growing climate of fear and animosity' around the world.
It proposed measures to promote long-term understanding between cultures, including a critical review of educational material, increased youth exchange programmes and a media campaign against discrimination.
The idea for the Alliance of Civilisations report was originally suggested by Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a speech to the UN General Assembly in September 2004, six months after terrorist bombings in Madrid killed 191 people.
